Archive Calendar

Guides

Ronald Kessler: Reform the Secret Service

Ronald Kessler is a former Washington Post reporter and the author of “The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents.”

secret service photo

By Ronald KesslerWashington Post

When Michaele and Tareq Salahi crashed a White House state dinner five years ago, President Obama said he “could not have more confidence” in the Secret Service.

When the Secret Service sent home 11 agents from Cartagena, Colombia, for hiring prostitutes, the White House said Obama had “full confidence” in the Secret Service.

When an armed intruder penetrated the White House itself in September, a spokesman again said Obama had “full confidence” in the Secret Service.

Even now, after two senior Secret Service managers suspected of having been drinking drove their vehicle, overhead lights flashing, through security tape at the White House and hit a temporary barricade, the White House said Obama has “full confidence” in his newly appointed director, Joseph P. Clancy.